Isaiah 31 Study Notes: Egypt Is Mortal and the LORD Defends Zion
Isaiah warns those who rely on Egypt’s horses and chariots, since the Egyptians are only human and will fall together with those they help. Like a fearless lion and like birds circling above, the LORD will defend Jerusalem; Israel is called to return and abandon idols, and Assyria will fall without any human sword.
General
According to 31:8-9, how will Assyria fall?
Answer: Through God’s own action rather than human armies
The LORD declares that Assyria will be brought down, though not by any human sword; a sword not made by mortals will devour it. Its soldiers will flee, its young men forced into labor, and its leaders will panic, says the LORD, who has His fire in Zion (31:8-9). Judah did not need Egypt’s horses, because God Himself would defeat the enemy. Isaiah later records exactly such a deliverance: God’s angel killed 185,000 in the Assyrian camp in one night (37:36), also recorded in 2 Kings 19:35. Zechariah would later hear the same principle: God’s work is done by His Spirit rather than by human might or strength (Zechariah 4:6).
- Isaiah 31:8-9 (BSB)““Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”Assyria will fall by a sword no human made, as the LORD of Zion acts.
- Isaiah 37:36 (BSB)“Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!”The angel of the LORD strikes down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp in one night.
- 2 Kings 19:35 (BSB)“And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!”The same deliverance is recorded in Kings, showing God, not an army, defeated Assyria.
- Zechariah 4:6 (BSB)“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”God’s work is accomplished not by human might or power but by His Spirit.
Theological
By what means does 31:8-9 say Assyria will fall?
Answer: Through God’s own action rather than human armies
Assyria will fall by a sword not of man, devoured by a blade no mortal made; it will flee, its young men made to labor as slaves, and its princes will be terrified, says the LORD, who has His fire and furnace in Zion and Jerusalem (31:8-9). The deliverance is supernatural, which exposes the folly of the Egyptian alliance. The fulfillment is recorded in 37:36 and 2 Kings 19:35, where God’s angel strikes down 185,000 Assyrians in a night, and Zechariah 4:6 states the principle: the work is done by the LORD’s Spirit, not by human might or strength.
- Isaiah 31:8-9 (BSB)““Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor. Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”Assyria will fall by a sword no human made, as the LORD of Zion acts.
- Isaiah 37:36 (BSB)“Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!”The angel of the LORD strikes down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp in one night.
- 2 Kings 19:35 (BSB)“And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!”The same deliverance is recorded in Kings, showing God, not an army, defeated Assyria.
- Zechariah 4:6 (BSB)“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”God’s work is accomplished not by human might or power but by His Spirit.
General
What do the two pictures in 31:4-5 show about the LORD and Jerusalem?
Answer: He will act with unshaken resolve and shield the city
The LORD compares Himself first to a lion growling over its prey that is not scared off by a crowd of shouting shepherds; in the same way the LORD of Hosts descends to fight on Mount Zion (31:4). Then He compares Himself to birds hovering overhead: He will protect Jerusalem, shield and rescue it, spare it and keep it safe (31:5). No one can frighten Him away, and He hovers over His city to guard it. Readers differ on whether the lion scene first pictures the LORD coming against Zion or holding on to it as His own, but the two pictures together end in His protection of Jerusalem. Moses’ song pictures God like an eagle hovering over its young (Deuteronomy 32:11). The wording about passing over recalls the first Passover, when the LORD passed over Israel’s houses (Exodus 12:13). Isaiah later records God’s promise to defend Jerusalem for His own sake and His servant David’s (37:35).
- Isaiah 31:4-5 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.””The LORD is like a lion no one can scare off and like birds hovering to protect Jerusalem.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 (BSB)“As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.”God is pictured as an eagle hovering over its young to protect and carry them.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”At the first Passover the LORD passed over Israel’s houses and spared them.
- Isaiah 37:35 (BSB)“‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””God promises to defend Jerusalem and save it for His own sake and David’s.
Theological
What do the lion and hovering-bird similes of 31:4-5 reveal about the LORD’s action for Jerusalem?
Answer: He will act with unshaken resolve and shield the city
The lion simile stresses the LORD’s fearless resolve: like a lion over its catch, undeterred by the clamor of shepherds, the LORD of Hosts descends to wage war on Mount Zion (31:4). The bird simile stresses tender protection: hovering over Jerusalem, He shields, delivers, passes over and preserves it (31:5). Interpreters differ on whether the lion first pictures the LORD coming against Zion or keeping hold of it as His own, but the passage ends in His protection, so Judah need not buy Egypt’s protection, for the LORD Himself is the city’s defender. Deuteronomy 32:11 likens God to an eagle hovering over its young, the language of passing over echoes the Passover deliverance (Exodus 12:13), and in 37:35 God pledges to defend the city for His own sake and David’s.
- Isaiah 31:4-5 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.””The LORD is like a lion no one can scare off and like birds hovering to protect Jerusalem.
- Deuteronomy 32:11 (BSB)“As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.”God is pictured as an eagle hovering over its young to protect and carry them.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”At the first Passover the LORD passed over Israel’s houses and spared them.
- Isaiah 37:35 (BSB)“‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’””God promises to defend Jerusalem and save it for His own sake and David’s.
General
According to 31:3, what happens to Egypt and Judah when the LORD raises His hand against them?
Answer: Egypt and those relying on it collapse together
Judah’s planners thought themselves wise, but the LORD too is wise; He brings disaster and does not take back His words, rising against the wicked and those who help them (31:2). The Egyptians are only human, not God, and their horses mere animals. When the LORD acts, the helper stumbles and the one being helped falls, and they perish together (31:3). Trusting a human ally means sharing its fall. God does not change His mind like a man (Numbers 23:19). Jeremiah says the person who trusts in mere human strength is cursed, while the one who trusts the LORD is blessed (Jeremiah 17:5-7), and the psalmist warns not to trust mortal rulers who cannot save (Psalm 146:3-4).
- Isaiah 31:2-3 (BSB)“Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.”The Egyptians are mere men, so when the LORD acts, both Egypt and those it helps fall together.
- Numbers 23:19 (BSB)“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”God is not a man who changes His mind; what He speaks, He carries out.
- Jeremiah 17:5-7 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.”Trusting in mere human strength brings a curse, while trusting the LORD brings blessing.
- Psalm 146:3-4 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save. When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.”Mortal rulers cannot save, for their plans perish when they die.
Theological
What does 31:3 say becomes of Egypt and of Judah when the LORD reaches out in judgment?
Answer: Egypt and those relying on it collapse together
The LORD is wise as well, bringing calamity and not retracting His word, rising against evildoers and their allies (31:2). The decisive contrast follows: Egypt is man and not God, its horses mere flesh, so when the LORD moves against them the helper stumbles, the helped falls, and both perish together (31:3). Reliance on the creature binds a people to the creature’s ruin. God’s word is unchangeable (Numbers 23:19), cursed is the one who makes flesh his strength while blessed is the one who trusts the LORD (Jeremiah 17:5-7), and mortal princes cannot save (Psalm 146:3-4).
- Isaiah 31:2-3 (BSB)“Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers. But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.”The Egyptians are mere men, so when the LORD acts, both Egypt and those it helps fall together.
- Numbers 23:19 (BSB)“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”God is not a man who changes His mind; what He speaks, He carries out.
- Jeremiah 17:5-7 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD. He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.”Trusting in mere human strength brings a curse, while trusting the LORD brings blessing.
- Psalm 146:3-4 (BSB)“Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save. When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.”Mortal rulers cannot save, for their plans perish when they die.
General
True or False: In 31:6-7, the call to turn back to the LORD is joined to a promise that on that day each person will throw off the idols his own hands made.
Answer: True
This is true. Isaiah calls the children of Israel to come back to the God they have so deeply rebelled against (31:6). He adds that in that day each of them will cast off the silver and gold idols they sinfully made with their own hands (31:7). Turning back to God and turning away from idols go together. Hosea gives the same call to come back to God (Hosea 14:1-3), and Isaiah later urges the wicked to forsake their way and come back to God, who pardons generously (55:7). Joel calls the people to return with all their heart, for God is kind and merciful (Joel 2:12-13).
- Isaiah 31:6-7 (BSB)“Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel. For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.”Israel is called to return to the LORD, and on that day each will reject the idols he made.
- Hosea 14:1-3 (BSB)“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.””Hosea calls Israel to return, renouncing trust in Assyria, horses and handmade gods.
- Isaiah 55:7 (BSB)“Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”The wicked are urged to return to the LORD, who will have compassion and freely pardon.
- Joel 2:12-13 (BSB)““Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.”Joel calls the people to return to God with all their heart, because He is gracious and compassionate.
Theological
True or False: According to 31:6-7, the summons to turn back to the LORD is accompanied by the promise that each person will cast off the idols made by his own hands.
Answer: True
This is true. The summons to come back to the God from whom Israel has deeply revolted (31:6) is grounded in the promise that in that day each will cast off the silver and gold idols their hands sinfully made (31:7). Repentance means both turning to God and renouncing idols. Hosea 14:1-3 issues the same call with a vow to renounce Assyria, horses and idols together; Isaiah 55:7 promises abundant pardon to the wicked who return; and Joel 2:12-13 grounds the call to wholehearted return in God’s grace and compassion.
- Isaiah 31:6-7 (BSB)“Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel. For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.”Israel is called to return to the LORD, and on that day each will reject the idols he made.
- Hosea 14:1-3 (BSB)“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.””Hosea calls Israel to return, renouncing trust in Assyria, horses and handmade gods.
- Isaiah 55:7 (BSB)“Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”The wicked are urged to return to the LORD, who will have compassion and freely pardon.
- Joel 2:12-13 (BSB)““Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.”Joel calls the people to return to God with all their heart, because He is gracious and compassionate.
General
What is the charge in 31:1 against those who turn to Egypt for aid?
Answer: They trust military might instead of seeking God
The woe falls on those who seek Egypt’s help and rely on horses, trusting in many chariots and great numbers of horsemen. Their fault is spelled out: they neither look to Israel’s Holy One nor seek the LORD (31:1). Going to Egypt was not wrong because of geography but because it replaced trust in God with trust in weapons. The psalmist says some rely on chariots and horses, while God’s people rely on the LORD’s name (Psalm 20:7). The law had warned the king not to gather many horses or march Israel back to Egypt for more (Deuteronomy 17:16), and another psalm calls a horse a false hope for rescue (Psalm 33:16-17).
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”A woe on those who rely on Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of seeking the LORD.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalmist contrasts trust in chariots and horses with trust in the name of the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 17:16 (BSB)“But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’”The law forbade the king to multiply horses or march Israel back to Egypt for more.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”No king is saved by his army, and a horse is a vain hope for salvation.
Theological
What sin does 31:1 identify in those who seek Egypt’s aid?
Answer: They trust military might instead of seeking God
The woe targets reliance on Egyptian cavalry and chariotry in place of the LORD: they trust in the multitude of chariots and horsemen but fail to look to Israel’s Holy One or seek the LORD (31:1). The heart of the sin is misplaced trust, faith transferred from God to military power. Psalm 20:7 sets the two trusts side by side, Deuteronomy 17:16 forbade the king to multiply horses or return the people to Egypt for them, and Psalm 33:16-17 declares the horse a false hope for deliverance.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”A woe on those who rely on Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of seeking the LORD.
- Psalm 20:7 (BSB)“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”The psalmist contrasts trust in chariots and horses with trust in the name of the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 17:16 (BSB)“But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’”The law forbade the king to multiply horses or march Israel back to Egypt for more.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.”No king is saved by his army, and a horse is a vain hope for salvation.